Azores Situation Report Wednesday 13th August 2025 

The Azores managed to recover 76% of their urban waste

Around two-thirds (76%) of the waste generated in the Azores was recycled in 2024, a “very significant advance” compared to previous years, according to the regional secretary for the Environment.

According to data provided by Alonso Miguel, who was speaking at the presentation of the 2024 report on urban waste in Ponta Delgada, there were “improvements in packaging management and collection, with a rate of 83.5 kilograms per inhabitant in 2024,” a 4.8% increase compared to 2023.

The Minister of Environment and Climate Action highlighted two factors that he considered “very differentiating and prestigious for the region,” namely the rate of waste preparation for reuse and recycling, which reached 48% in 2024, 33% more than in 2023.

At the national level, he added, the rate of waste preparation for reuse and recycling was 23%, compared to 48% in the Azores.

Alonso Miguel also said that, in 2020, the rate “was only 31.2%, which represents a 54% increase” and leaves the region “very close to achieving the EU targets for 2025.”

According to the minister, one of the determining factors for this growth was the commissioning of the mechanical and biological treatment plant on the island of São Miguel.

“It has even been possible to achieve the EU target set for 2025, which was 55%, since São Miguel achieved a rate of 56%,” he stated.

Another “relevant statistic” highlighted by the regional secretary concerns the diversion of landfill waste, which in the Azores “reached a very significant 45% in 2020, reaching 24% this year.”

These results, he emphasized, demonstrate that the Azores are “on a very solid path to achieving the EU target for landfill waste disposal by 2035, which is 10%.

However, the Environment Minister also highlighted “less positive data that warrant additional efforts, particularly regarding waste management on Terceira Island, where the rate of preparation for reuse and recycling remains stagnant, with a slight reduction to 19%.

Communications traffic at MEO Monte Verde equal to 13 years of calls

The festival, which brought together around 40,000 people on Monte Verde beach, in Ribeira Grande, was also the first in the Azores to have sign language interpreters.

The MEO Monte Verde 2025 festival recorded communications traffic equivalent to more than 13 years of calls, MEO revealed in a press release.

Last weekend, around 40,000 people gathered on Monte Verde beach, in Ribeira Grande, for three days of music, sharing and innovation.

And as stated in a press release, for the first time in the Azores, a festival featured Portuguese Sign Language interpreters, ensuring that the music could be felt by everyone, complementing the mobility solutions already available at the venue and ensuring that everyone could fully enjoy the festival experience.

This initiative, part of the MEO Foundation’s “Music with Meaning” project, reinforced the event’s commitment to cultural accessibility and social inclusion, in a festival that also included the strengthening of technological infrastructure, ensuring that thousands of festivalgoers could share moments and stay connected quickly and safely.

Santa Clara makes its home debut on August 17th

The Portuguese Professional Football League (LPFP) released, last Friday, the schedule for the second round of the I Liga, where the “encarnados” from Ponta Delgada will play the first match at home, on August 17, against Moreirense.

The duel between the Azoreans and the “canons” is scheduled to start at 5 pm and will be played three days after Santa Clara plays the second leg of the third qualifying round of the Conference League, against Northern Ireland’s Larne.

The second round of the main Portuguese football competition starts next Friday (August 15), with AFS hosting Casa Pia, at 2:30 pm.

Three more matches follow on Saturday, with the clash between Tondela and Famalicão (2:30 pm), Vitória de Guimarães – Estoril (5:00 pm) and also Benfica’s visit to Estrela da Amadora’s home (7:30 pm), with the duel between the “tricolores” and “águias” being subject to changes, depending on the qualification of the “encarnados” for the Champions League play-off.

On Sunday, in addition to Santa Clara-Moreirense, there are three more matches to highlight, with Rio Ave hosting Nacional (2:30 pm), the duel between Alverca and Sporting de Braga (5:00 pm) and Sporting debuting, at 7:30 pm, the “renovated” Estádio José Alvalade, against Arouca, with the round concluding on Monday, from 7:15 pm, with FC Porto’s visit to Gil Vicente’s stronghold.

 

 

Azores Safety and Security Report Wednesday 23 July 2025

 

By our corresspondent in Azores

19 people identified in the Azores for converting vehicles into homes

The GNR identified 19 people who were converting vans into living spaces and issued 38 administrative offences on the islands of São Miguel, São Jorge, Pico and Faial, in inspection actions to control illegal car rental activity.

In a statement, the GNR explains that during inspections it noticed that several vehicles were being converted into living spaces and, subsequently, advertised and promoted on online platforms as motorhomes or motorhomes.

The GNR also found that several of the providers operated without the necessary prior communication with the Institute of Mobility and Transport (IMT) and that the vehicles were not subject to rental contracts.

Following inspections, which took place between July 7th and 16th, 23 vehicles were identified operating without the proper authorization to carry out the rent-a-car activity.

19 tax infraction reports were drawn up for failure to notify the start of the light vehicle rental activity, an offence punishable by fines of between 300 and 7,500 euros, in the case of individuals.

The GNR issued another 19 administrative offences for carrying out the rent-a-car activity without administrative permission, which is punishable by fines of between 1,500 and 2,500 euros for individuals.

In total, 19 owners of light vehicles, aged between 25 and 50, were identified on the islands of São Miguel, São Jorge, Pico and Faial, who were converting their cars to serve as homes.

Former American military homes in Lajes begin to be renovated by the Azorean government

More than 90 houses left vacant by the US Air Force at the Lajes base, Terceira Island, in 2015, will begin to be restored, in an investment of 11.3 million euros, financed by the Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP).

The project, whose first stone was laid this Monday, has an execution period of 450 days and is expected to be completed in October 2026.

The intervention aims to improve the energy efficiency of homes, with the installation of heat pumps and thermal insulation on the roof.

It also provides for the modification of the electrical grid, which was the same as that used in the United States of America, and the creation of a new wastewater treatment plant.

 

 

Azores Safety and Security Report Wednesday 9 July 2025

 

By our correspondent in the Azoers

Santa Clara faces Wolverhampton in one of six pre-season games

Santa Clara will play six friendly matches in preparation for the new season, including against Farense, Louletano, Portimonense and English side Wolverhampton, the I League football club announced.

In a statement, the Azorean side said that the first friendly match will be against Louletano, on Wednesday, followed by matches against Wolverhampton (July 15), from the Premier League – in which the Portuguese José Sá, Toti Gomes and Rodrigo Gomes line up -, Farense (July 16) and Portimonense (July 19).

The club, which finished last season in fifth place in the I Liga, says that “Vasco Matos’s team will have two more matches, with the opponents to be announced later”.

The team left on Sunday for a two-week training camp in the Algarve, where they will continue their preparations for the new season, which will start with two games against Varazdin, counting towards the second qualifying round of the Conference League.

The first leg between the Azoreans and the fourth-placed team from the last edition of the Croatian league is scheduled for July 24, in Croatia, followed by the second leg on July 31, at home.

To attack the 2025/26 season, Santa Clara has already secured the signings of Thauan Lara, Henrique Pereira, Douglas Borel, Anthony Carter and Brenner Lucas, and the permanent acquisition of Wendel Silva, who was on loan from FC Porto.

The Azoreans will make their debut in the 2025/26 I Liga with a visit to Famalicão, in the first round of the competition, scheduled for the weekend of August 9th and 10th.

Former American military homes in Lajes begin to be rehabilitated by the Azorean executive

More than 90 houses left vacant by the US Air Force at the Lajes base, Terceira Island, in 2015, will begin to be restored, in an investment of 11.3 million euros, financed by the Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP)

The work, whose first stone was laid this Monday, has an execution period of 450 days, and is expected to be completed in October 2026.

Chamber proposes expanding minibus network to seven lines in Ponta Delgada

Proposal expands minibus coverage to the parishes of Relva, Arrifes, Fajã de Baixo, Fajã de Cima, São Roque and Livramento, including connections to the airport and beaches. Restructuring of the current minibus network is expected to go to public tender in 2026.

Lagoa Pools Host “Moon Baths”

The Lagoa Municipal Swimming Pool Complex, on the island of São Miguel, will host, on Thursday, between 9:00 pm and 11:00 pm, another edition of the “Banhos de Lua” initiative, which has free entry.

“This event offers a unique experience: diving under the light of the full moon and observing the beauty of the night sky through telescopes. This is a proposal that combines leisure, science and contact with nature, in a welcoming and safe environment”, according to the organization.

“Banhos de Lua” is an initiative developed by the Lagoa municipality in partnership with the Santana Astronomical Observatory – Azores (OASA) and CEFAL – Lagoa Environmental Education and Training Centre.

 

 

Azores Situation Report Wednesday 2nd July 2025

The Azores recorded more than 444.8 thousand overnight stays in tourist accommodation in May, an increase of 3.1% compared to the same period last year, according to data revealed today by the Regional Statistics Service (SREA).

“In May, 444.8 thousand overnight stays were recorded in all tourist accommodation establishments (hotels, local accommodation and rural tourism) in the Azores, a figure 3.1% higher than that recorded in the same month of the previous year”, reads the SREA Tourism Activity report, released today.

According to the document, the increase is higher than that recorded at national level (1.3%).

In the first five months of the year, the Azores exceeded one million overnight stays in tourist accommodation (1.4 million), an increase of 7.3% compared to the same period last year.

In May, the region recorded 136.5 thousand guests (up 5.2%), with an average stay of 3.26 nights, which increased by 2% year-on-year.

Residents abroad accounted for more than half of overnight stays in May (70.6%), totalling 313.9 thousand, 5.2% more than in the same period last year.

With 130.9 thousand overnight stays (29.4%), the national market registered a drop of 5.8%.

Cory’s shearwater is a bioindicator of marine pollution in the Atlantic, as proposed by Portugal

A proposal presented by Portugal for the adoption of the Cory’s Shearwater as a common bioindicator of floating plastic pollution in Region V of OSPAR (Wider Atlantic) was approved, in an initiative led by the Government of the Azores.

The new environmental indicator will allow the evaluation of the quantity, composition and temporal evolution of plastic ingested by juvenile shearwaters found dead during the period when they leave their nests.

This species, abundant in Macaronesia, appears as an alternative to the Arctic fulmar (Fulmarus glacialis), used in other OSPAR regions, but absent in the southernmost latitudes, the Azorean executive added.

On the Regional Government’s website, it is stated that the Cory’s Shearwater “belongs to a group formed by several species of seabirds (Procellariiformes) that includes albatrosses, shearwaters (…) and storm-petrels. (…) The Cory’s Shearwater is the most characteristic seabird of the Azores and one of the oldest on the planet. Cory’s Shearwaters spend a large part of their lives at sea (pelagic birds), coming ashore only when it is time to breed, to build their nests, mate, incubate their eggs and care for their young.”

This is a proposal presented by Portugal for the adoption of the Cory’s Shearwater (Calonectris borealis) as a common bioindicator of floating plastic pollution in Region V (Greater Atlantic).

It is led by the Regional Government of the Azores, through the Regional Secretariat for the Sea and Fisheries – Regional Directorate for Maritime Policies, with scientific support developed by Yasmina Rodríguez and Christopher Pham, researchers at the OKEANOS Institute for Marine Sciences Research (University of the Azores) and is the result of a monitoring program initiated in 2015, within the scope of the internationally recognized “SOS Cagarro” citizen science campaign.

In addition to the Cory’s Shearwater as a bioindicator, an environmental assessment threshold was also approved: a maximum of 20% of the birds analysed must contain more than four plastic particles in their stomachs, based on a minimum sample of 200 juvenile birds collected over five consecutive years.

It is now expected that the ministerial meeting will reaffirm the political commitment to the implementation of this new indicator, reinforcing regional collaboration and contributing to the objectives of the Environmental Strategy for the Northeast Atlantic 2030 (NEAES 2030)”.